The Lowy Institute

Is there an Australian way of diplomacy? How can Australia navigate an increasingly complicated and dangerous world? The Lowy Institute’s Research Director David Dutton speaks with former senior diplomat Lachlan Strahan about his new memoir The Curious Diplomat, in which he takes readers inside the world of Australian diplomacy. In their conversation, Lachlan shares anecdotes and experiences, and reflects on how Australian diplomacy has shifted along with a changing world.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This month, the world gathered in the Amazonian city of Belém for COP30, the UN’s annual climate summit. It was the first time in 30 years that the United States was absent from the talks. Todd Stern, former US Special Envoy for Climate Change under President Obama, spoke to the Lowy Institute’s Ryan Neelam on the ground in Belém about the impact of the US withdrawal from talks, the big issues at COP30, and the challenges and benefits of addressing climate change through multilateral frameworks.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr Michael Fullilove AM, Executive Director of the Lowy Institute, gave a speech to the Institute titled "Present at the Destruction" on Tuesday 29 November 2025. In these remarks, he reflects on the ABC Boyer Lectures he delivered a decade ago. ​ Dr Fullilove believes we are present at the destruction of an international order that served our interests well. The liberal order has become something illiberal and disorderly. On the other hand, the return of political stability to Australia's government should set us up to make bold decisions. He assesses Australia's international policies, in particular the stabilisation of relations with China, the energetic diplomacy in Southeast Asia and the Pacific and the agreements Canberra has signed with Pacific Island countries and Indonesia. In time, he hopes these agreements will come to form a latticework of mutual strategic trust. This is the moment, Dr Fullilove suggests, for Australia to increase its investment in both diplomacy and deterrence. Our country should

The United Nations is facing two simultaneous disruptions: the planned UN80 reforms, timed to refine the organisation’s structure and mandate during its 80th anniversary, and budget cuts led by the Trump administration. Lowy Institute Research Fellow Grace Stanhope speaks with UN financing expert and author Dr Ronny Patz, and Ryan Neelam, the Lowy Institute’s Director of Public Opinion and Foreign Policy, about the financial viability and geopolitical dynamics of the UN.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Pacific Islands face converging transnational and geopolitical threats, yet existing intelligence exchanges are fragmented and inadequate to meet the scale of these challenges. The Lowy Institute’s Oliver Nobetau and Mihai Sora discuss a new policy proposal to create a Pacific Eyes agreement — a dedicated intelligence-sharing framework that could transform regional security cooperation. You can read about the Pacific Eyes intelligence-sharing agreement here: https://www.lowyinstitute.org/publications/pacific-eyes-intelligence-sharing-agreementSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What exactly is the nature of the deal struck between the US and Australian governments on critical minerals? How is it different to the agreements Washington later signed with Southeast Asian countries? And why are we worried about supplies of (not very) rare earths anyway? Explore the economics and politics with the Lowy Institute's Sam Roggeveen and Robert Walker. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Director-General of Security Mike Burgess delivered the 2025 Lowy Lecture before a packed Sydney Town Hall on Tuesday 4 November 2025. In his address and subsequent conversation with the Lowy Institute's Executive Director Dr Michael Fullilove, Mr Burgess spoke about the interplay between threats to Australian security, including those which emanate from abroad, and our country’s social cohesion.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

During his visit to the UN in September, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese re-declared Australia’s bid for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council for 2029–30. But winning a seat on the world’s apex body is not assured, and the Council itself is facing a crisis of confidence. The Lowy Institute’s Ryan Neelam speaks with former Australian Ambassador to the UN Gary Quinlan AO about the state of the Security Council today, the case for Australia’s bid, and the impact Australia could have on global peace and security as an elected member.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Understanding Xi Jinping and what drives him has become a global cottage industry. According to US China scholar Joseph Torigian, one of the keys to understanding Xi Jinping is his father, Xi Zhongxun. How did Xi Senior influence Xi Junior? And what lessons can be drawn from the father for today’s policymaking? Torigian speaks with the Lowy Institute’s Richard McGregor about his new biography, The Party’s Interests Come First.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The long-awaited meeting between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has finally happened. Lowy Institute Executive Director Dr Michael Fullilove talks with Lydia Khalil and gives his take on the meeting’s outcomes and what it means for the US–Australia alliance. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this interview, the Lowy Institute's Sam Roggeveen speaks with one of Asia’s most respected and trenchant observers of modern geopolitics, Bilahari Kausikan, as he discusses his new Lowy Institute Paper, “The Myth of the Asian Century”. "The Myth of the Asian Century" is published by Penguin. It is available in bookstores and as an e-book: https://www.penguin.com.au/books/the-myth-of-the-asian-century-a-lowy-institute-paper-penguin-special-9781761357992. The Lowy Institute Papers are the Lowy Institute’s flagship publications. They are peer-reviewed essays and research papers on key international issues affecting Australia and the world.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Until his retirement from government this year, Nick Rasmussen has worked in counter-terrorism and countering violent extremism under successive Republican and Democratic administrations in the United States since the September 11 attacks in 2001, including under the first Trump administration.  In this conversation, the Lowy Institute’s Lydia Khalil speaks with Nick about the significant changes the Trump administration has made to CT/CVE policy and how allies can adjust. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Join Sam Roggeveen and Interpreter Managing Editor Daniel Flitton for a conversation about what we covered this month in Australia’s best foreign affairs magazine, The Interpreter.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Two of Washington, DC's most respected journalists, Susan Glasser and Peter Baker, join the Lowy Institute's Executive Director, Dr Michael Fullilove, for a special conversation at the 2025 Lowy Institute Media Award Dinner. Susan Glasser, appointed to the Lowy Institute Board in January 2025, is a staff writer at The New Yorker and has served as the top editor of several Washington publications, including Politico. Her books include Kremlin Rising and the New York Times bestseller The Man Who Ran Washington, covering Donald Trump’s first four years in the White House — both co-written with her husband, Peter Baker. Peter Baker is the Chief White House Correspondent for The New York Times, covering President Trump and his administration. He joined The Times in 2008 after 20 years at The Washington Post and has covered the White House across six presidencies. Baker has written seven books, most recently The Divider: Trump in the White House, 2017–2021, also co-authored with Susan Glasser.See

Washington’s foreign policy establishment is still reluctant to internalise the fact that the United States has entered a multipolar era, says Emma Ashford, Senior Fellow at the Stimson Center. In this conversation, Ashford talks with the Lowy Institute’s Sam Roggeveen about her new book, First Among Equals, and the urgent need for a more realistic American foreign policy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Southeast Asia is one of the most geopolitically diverse and contested regions of the world. But does China or the United States have more influence? And is it even accurate to describe the region’s geopolitics in these terms? Research Director Hervé Lemahieu talks with two of the authors of the newly launched Southeast Asia Influence Index, Susannah Patton and Rahman Yaacob.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're in a global democratic recession. Not only is the number of democratic nations in decline, but so are democratic institutions and norms. What's going on? Sam Roggeveen talks with Lydia Khalil, co-author of the Lowy Institute's newest interactive, Understanding Democratic Erosion, about the complex dynamics and whether there is a way back.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Under new leadership, Indonesia continues to face a persistent and complex challenge: governance. As the country strives to maintain political stability and meet ambitious economic targets, governance reform has become central to meeting both domestic development goals and international commitments. Will political and economic developments in Indonesia enable it to escape the middle-income trap? How can Indonesia balance its climate change pledges with its industrial agenda, and what role does the carbon market play? Can the pursuit of OECD and CPTPP membership act as leverage to drive necessary governance reforms? This panel discussion features Professor Shiro Armstrong (Australian National University), Dr Ida Aju Pradnja Resosudarmo (Australian National University), Dr Liam Gammon (Australian National University) and Dr Axel Michaelowa (University of Zurich). The discussion was moderated by Lowy Institute Research Fellow Dr Hilman Palaon.See omnystudio.com/listener fo

Bougainville has set 2027 as the deadline to declare independence from Papua New Guinea. But the economic and institutional foundations of sovereignty in the autonomous region remain fragile. In this episode of Pacific Change Makers, the Lowy Institute’s Director of the Pacific Islands Program Mihai Sora speaks with Oliver Nobetau, Director of the Aus–PNG Network Project, about the roadmap needed to ensure Bougainville’s future prosperity.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Join Lydia Khalil and Interpreter Managing Editor Daniel Flitton for a conversation about what we covered this month in Australia’s best foreign affairs magazine, The Interpreter.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.